ECSO: Man set pregnant girlfriend on fire, attacked her with sledgehammer

by Kristie Henderson

Source: Escambia County Jail log

ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WEAR) —

A Beulah man is behind bars after a report states he tried to kill his pregnant girlfriend by pouring lighter fluid on her in one incident and attacking her with a sledgehammer during another one.

The report states 45-year-old Kenneth Dauine Swanger held his girlfriend captive almost two weeks.

According to the report, the girlfriend told Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies that Swanger became angry with her and accused her of having an affair. The victim is 20 weeks pregnant.

The victim said Swanger poured lighter fluid all over her body before lighting a blanket on fire and tossing it onto her, causing her to catch fire, the report states.

Swanger then, according to the report, put the victim in a bathtub and told her he only helped her because she “was screaming so loudly, if not he would have killed her.”

Approximately one week later, the report says Swanger became angry with the victim and hit her four times in the head with a sledgehammer.

On Sept. 15, the victim was able to escape and ran to the Tom Thumb on Nine Mile Road and Beulah Road where she used a phone to call family in Mississippi to come and get her.

The report says the victim’s family took her back to Mississippi where she waited two days before going to a hospital. She was then taken to the University of South Alabama Hospital for her burn injuries.

According to the report, deputies say the woman had severe burns across her stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, and back. The report adds she had several bruises on her arms and legs, along with a three-inch laceration to the left side of her head. There were also multiples scratches to her legs, arms, and hands.

Swanger was arrested and charged with attempted homicide and false imprisonment. He's being held at the Escambia County Jail on a $1 million bond.